About Me

I was a reporter and columnist for 40 years for a chain of newspapers in the suburbs of Chicago. I'm a military veteran having served in the United States Army Combat Engineers (Cpl. E-4) and a Korean War veteran with an Honorable Discharge from the Armed Forces of the United States of America

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Richard Engle is unquestionably the best war correspondent in the journalism business and in this video you see Engle describing the many close calls he has had covering the Iraq war. Engle is now in Afghanistan covering that war and again finds himself right in the thick of the fighting between U.S. troops and the Taliban.TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/v/g5HCcaPQb_M&hl=en_US&fs=1CLICK ON LINK ABOVE AND THEN DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO

Kabul - At least 16 Taliban militants were killed in US-led airstrikes carried out by pilotless aircraft in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said Tuesday. NATO pinpointed a group of insurgents who were moving mortar rounds and ammunition Monday near a safehouse in Helmand province, the ISAF said in a statement."An unmanned aerial vehicle launched one Hellfire missile, killing 13 insurgents," it said, adding that there were no reports of civilian casualties in the Naw Zad district, where the incident took place.

Three other insurgents were killed Monday in another drone attack in the Nad Ali district of the same province, the statement said.Also on Monday, an unknown number of "known insurgents" were killed by Afghan and international forces in the western province of Herat, it said.

The targeted militants were linked to roadside bombings in the region, it said without giving any details on the operation.

Meanwhile, the ISAF revised down its death toll of soldiers killed in separate incidents on Monday from six to five.The five included three US troops who died in a fight with insurgents in the south and one French soldier killed by insurgents in the east.The fifth soldier, whose nationality was not revealed by the ISAF, was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.

Fourteen NATO soldiers, including at least 10 US troops, have been killed in the Afghan conflict so far in January.

A total of 520 international troops, including 317 US soldiers, were killed in Afghanistan last year, the deadliest period for US and NATO forces since the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

More than 110,000 foreign troops are currently stationed in Afghanistan. Up to 37,000 additional US and NATO troops were expected to arrive in summer as part of a military escalation against the Taliban.

This video was made by Casey J. Porter, who served two tours in Iraq, and he shows viewers how mechanics have to use homemade armor to upgrade army vehicles to protect the troops inside, but at the same time the chow hall is equipped with high def flat screen television sets.WATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.vimeo.com/8664657

There is a new breed of soldier in Afghanistan and Iraq these days. They are the women from the various Armed Forces from around the world serving their country. This video gives you a sample of some of the women from the various countries serving with NATO forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.WATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/v/iCmppOwVPFg&hl=en_US&fs=1CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO PLAY THIS VIDEO